Issues with Conference Realignment by Spencer Thomas

Conference realignment in major college football is in full swing. For some schools like the University of Colorado, the issue has become how to balance the budget with the further travel distances and exit fees. The following is a synopsis of the schools situation to give you an idea what goes on behind the scenes.
Since the University of Colorado has to pay an exit fee in accordance to Big 12 bylaws, the following possible courses of action are possible. The first will be to pay the penalty with the revenue generated from the upcoming Pac-10 TV deal and move on from the Big 12 conference once and for all. Other ways to cover up for this penalty would be to cut any unnecessary athletic expense. Perhaps there are full-time or part-time jobs that can be replaced with non-paying internships, or perhaps there are more efficient ways to operate the athletic program (print less paper, cut unnecessary travel, less benefits, for example). There are benefits for CU in joining the Pac-10, but those benefits are met with some trouble and people should be willing to accept some changes. The other option we feel CU should consider would be to work out a deal with the remaining Big 12 members. As an original member of the Big 8, CU has a strong bond with many of the remaining schools and has worked hand-in-hand with creating the power conference that the Big 12 was and will continue to be. In doing so, CU has a good report with these schools and may be able to waive the exit fee or work out a lesser penalty. It is farfetched to believe that the remaining Big 12 members feel sold out by CU as the university bolted for the Pac-10; they understand that they were looking out for their own good, just as they would do. While the Big 12 doesn’t have a revenue sharing model, each remaining school will take a larger cut TV revenue generated from the upcoming TV deals. If the conference can work out a similar/larger TV contract to what it had before, the remaining members will receive more revenue thanks to CU. Finally, CU has seen a recent boost in donations from alumni in the western states, so some of those funds could be allocated to a Big 12 evacuation penalty.
Since CU will be playing a different athletic schedule, their travel expenses will be a measure of scrutiny. However the assumption that the Big 12 was a good geographic fit for the university was a misnomer. The average travel distance to an in-conference opponent in the Big 12 was 657 miles (note: these distances are driving distances) with the closest location (Lincoln, Nebraska) clocking in at 501 miles. The Pac-10 average travel distance from Boulder checks in at 1,075 miles with the University of Utah (Salt Lake City) claiming the closest location at 499 miles. An increased average travel distance of 418 miles surely should jack up travel costs, but the Pac-10 has a friendly geographic feature. Each university is paired with another university: two schools each in Arizona, L.A., the Bay Area, Oregon, Washington and the Rocky Mountains. These pairings could allow travelling teams to play two road games in succession at a pair, thus eliminating there-and-back transportation costs. This theory mainly applies to the non-revenue sports (basketball non-withstanding) who may travel with their pair team on a road trip. For example, Colorado and Utah may travel to Oregon for a weekend basketball road trip. Colorado would play Oregon while Utah plays Oregon State on a Thursday game then swap opponents for the Saturday game. This would eliminate the need to travel back and forth between their home opponents location. Undoubtedly, the original Pac-10 teams have an economical travel scenario they already abide by, so CU would just fit right in. It may turn out, in fact, that the Pac-10 presents a cheaper travel option for CU than the Big 12 did, even with greater distances to be traveled.